Why ideological exclusion violates the rights of us all

[Judi Lynn]

Why ideological exclusion violates the rights of us all
Posted by Carol Rose, On Liberty July 16, 2010 03:53 PM

Defenders of free speech around the world are outraged over the U.S. State Department's denial of a visa to Colombian Journalist Hollman Morris. Morris was scheduled to participate in the prestigious Nieman Foundation journalism program at Harvard University starting this fall, until the U.S. State Department decided to exclude him from our shores.

Morris is a highly acclaimed television producer, who has reported extensively on the long and complex civil war in Colombia. In particular, he has exposed both the impact of war on its victims and abuses by the Colombian government's intelligence services-- undoubtedly upsetting Colombian government officials. Morris also is the recipient of the Human Rights Defender Award from Human Rights Watch for his war coverage.

The State Department won't say why Morris is being kept out, but Morris reportedly was told by local consular officials that he was being denied a visa under the "terrorist activities" section of the Patriot Act.

A Boston Globe editorial, "Reporting is Not Terrorism," rightly calls for the State Department to grant Mr. Morris a waiver that would permit him to enter the United States. Meanwhile, free speech groups, including the ACLU, American Association of University Professors and PEN American Center, as well as the Committee to Protect Journalists, Open Society Institute, and others have sent letters to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urging her to grant a visa.

Beyond that, it's time for the State Department to end "ideological exclusions" -- the practice of keeping out of our country authors, journalists and scholars based on their political speech and peaceful associations.

Ideological exclusion endangers journalists worldwide, according to Nieman Foundation Curator, Robert Giles: "It would represent a major recasting of press freedom doctrine if journalists, by establishing contacts with so-called terrorist organizations in the process of gathering news, open themselves to accusations of terrorist activities and the possibility of being barred from travel to the United States."

But there is another victim of the State Department's practice of ideological exclusion: the American people.

We -- as Americans -- have a First Amendment right to hear what Morris and other notable thinkers from around the world have to say and to engage with them in face-to-face dialogues. When our government excludes journalists, scholars, authors and poets from our country, the First Amendment rights of the American people also are violated.

Sadly, ideological exclusion has been used by virtually every administration in recent U.S. history to keep the Americans from engaging with people who view our nation from the perspective of distant shores. The list of people who have been excluded from the United States based on their ideology is a veritable "who's who" of famous authors, scholars, poets, journalists, and dissidents.

More:
http://boston.com/community/blogs/on_liberty/2010/07/defending_the_right_of_america.html